Paul Revere dies

On this day in history, May 10, 1818, Paul Revere dies. You probably know about his famous midnight ride, but Paul Revere’s life was much more than a single horse ride. Revere was the son of a French immigrant father and native Boston mother. Revere’s father, Apollos, was a silversmith and goldsmith, an occupation in which Paul followed his father’s footsteps. Paul would also work in dentistry, engraving and the manufacture of iron, brass and copper items.

School children are taught the story of Paul Revere’s ride to warn the patriots at Lexington and Concord that the British were coming, but Revere was also in the center of nearly everything that happened in Massachusetts during the American Revolution. Of the seven leading groups of patriots in Boston who were leaders and organizers of the rebellion against England, Revere was a member of 5. No one was a member of all 7, or even of 6 of these groups. Only Paul Revere and Dr. Joseph Warren were members of 5.

Revere was the creator of the "Sons of Liberty Bowl," a silver bowl created to honor the refusal of the 92 members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives who refused to rescind a letter denouncing the Townshend Acts. This item has been called one of the three greatest American treasures, along with the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Revere also made the famous Boston Massacre engraving that was reproduced across the colonies. The engraving is inaccurate in many respects, showing the propagandized version of the event which the patriots wished to disseminate.

Revere was called on numerous times to deliver messages, not just on the night of April 18, 1775. In fact, there are 18 such documented rides to places such as Philadelphia and New York. Revere organized a group of spies in Boston called the Mechanics that observed and reported on British activities in the city. He built a gunpowder plant to help the Revolution and was employed by the Continental Congress and the State of Massachusetts to engrave and print millions in currency.

Revere was a Major in the Massachusetts militia and served as lieutenant colonel of artillery at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor for a time. Later he became the commander of the fort. He participated in the attempt to recapture Newport, Rhode Island from the British and was part of the disastrous Penobscot Expedition, which was the largest American naval defeat until Pearl Harbor.

After the war, Revere became a major industrialist and manufacturer. He created the first copper foundry in the United States, which still exists today. He also became America’s chief manufacturer of brass church bells, some of which also exist today. Revere created iron bolts, cannons and fittings for American naval ships, such as the USS Constitution. He also provided the copper sheeting for the original dome on the Massachusetts State House and for the boilers in Robert Fulton’s first steamboat.

Paul Revere died on May 10, 1818 and was buried in Boston’s Old Granary Burial Ground, along with the victims of the Boston Massacre, James Otis and 3 signers of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Robert Treat Paine. Many notable landmarks related to Paul Revere still stand today, most notably the home he lived in at the time of the Revolution. It is the oldest structure standing in downtown Boston.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com  

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

"It is in the interest of tyrants to reduce the people to ignorance and vice. For they cannot live in any country where virtue and knowledge prevail."

Samuel Adams

American General Benjamin Lincoln dies

On this day in history, May 9, 1810, American General Benjamin Lincoln dies. Benjamin Lincoln was born into a prominent family in Hingham, Massachusetts, 16 miles southeast of Boston, in 1733. His father was wealthy and politically active and Benjamin followed in his footsteps, becoming the town constable at the age of 21 and the town clerk at the age of 24. Lincoln also joined the Suffolk County militia as an adjutant under his father who was the colonel.

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Lincoln held town posts for 20 years leading up to the Revolution and became known for his administrative ability. He did not serve in combat during the French and Indian War, but was involved in procuring supplies, recruitment and training of his father’s regiment. Shortly before the outbreak of the Revolution, Lincoln was elected to the colonial assembly and became a lieutenant colonel in the militia.

When British Governor Thomas Gage dissolved the colonial assembly in 1774, the representatives continued to meet as a provincial congress. Lincoln became the Congress’ secretary and held several key administrative positions supplying the army. When the war broke out he became a Major General over the militia. After the British abandoned Boston, Lincoln was given command of a Massachusetts regiment sent to join the Continental Army at New York. They saw action at the Battle of White Plains, but soon returned to Massachusetts, as their enlistment terms had expired.

In 1777, Lincoln was appointed a major general in the Continental Army on the advice of George Washington. He was sent to assist in repelling the British invasion from Canada and took part in the Battles of Saratoga, where he was shot in the ankle, an injury that would plague him for years.

In 1778, Lincoln was given command over the Southern Department of the Continental Army where the British were attempting to take over Georgia and South Carolina. His efforts were constantly plagued by the unwillingness of local authorities to cooperate with the Army. He was constantly short on soldiers and supplies. He successfully repelled an invasion attempt on Charleston in May, 1779, but failed to capture Savannah in October. Lincoln’s worst failure occurred in May of 1780 when his entire army was captured at the Siege of Charleston, the largest American defeat of the entire war.

In spite of this failure, Lincoln retained his good standing in the eyes of Washington and the Congress, largely because he had obeyed the civilian authorities in Charleston who didn’t want him to abandon the town. After being exchanged as a prisoner of war, Lincoln was given command of one of three regiments that marched with George Washington to Yorktown, Virginia. Lincoln was the overall general in charge of the siege and, as second in command to Washington, received the surrendered sword of British General Cornwallis from his second in command, General Charles O’Hara.

After Yorktown, Lincoln was made the first Secretary of War by the Confederation Congress until the end of the war. Returning to Massachusetts, Lincoln invested in land in Maine and retained his position as first Major General of the militia. In this position, Lincoln led an army that put down Shay’s Rebellion in 1787. Lincoln then served at the Massachusetts Constitutional Ratifying Convention where he supported the Constitution’s adoption and served a term as lieutenant governor.

Once George Washington became President, he appointed Lincoln to the influential post of Customs Collector for Boston. He held this lucrative position for the rest of his life. Washington called on him a few times to conduct sensitive negotiations with Indian tribes as well. Lincoln finally passed away in 1810 in Hingham and is buried in the Old Ship Burying Ground.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com  

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty.”
James Monroe

Seth Warner of the Green Mountain Boys is born

On this day in history, May 6, 1743, Seth Warner of the Green Mountain Boys is born. Seth Warner was born in Roxbury, Connecticut and moved to Bennington, Vermont in 1763. Bennington was part of the disputed New Hampshire Grants between New York and New Hampshire, which is today the state of Vermont. New Hampshire began granting settlers tracts of land in the area in the 1740s, but a 1764 Royal verdict gave the land to New York causing New York to invalidate all the New Hampshire grants.

New York began seeking the return of the land granted to New Hampshire settlers, who refused to give up their lands. The New Hampshire settlers organized a militia group called the Green Mountain Boys to  protect their lands from New York officials and settlers. The Green Mountain Boys were led by Ethan Allen and his cousins, Seth Warner and Remember Baker. They would harass and threaten any New York officials, surveyors or settlers that came into the area. As a leader of the Green Mountain Boys, Warner soon had a price placed on his head by Governor William Tryon of New York.

When the American Revolution broke out, the Green Mountain Boys immediately set out on a mission to capture Fort Ticonderoga in New York. The fort was notoriously undermanned and dilapidated, but had a very large store of cannons and artillery. The Green Mountain Boys captured the fort on May 10, less than a month after Lexington and Concord. Warner then went on and captured Fort Crown Point a few days later. For the capture of these two forts, Allen, Warner and the Green Mountain Boys became legends across the colonies. The captured artillery was carried across the mountains by a young Colonel Henry Knox to George Washington at the siege of Boston and used to fortify Dorchester Heights, which caused the British to evacuate the city.

The Continental Congress soon authorized a regiment to be made up of Green Mountain Boys. Seth Warner was chosen to lead the regiment in place of Allen, probably because of Allen’s legendary temper. The unit was officially called Warner’s Regiment. The Regiment served in the invasion of Canada and helped in the capture St. John’s and Montreal and with the siege of Quebec. Warner personally led the American rear guard in its retreat from Canada the next spring.

In 1777, Warner, now a colonel, participated in the Saratoga campaign, displaying superb leadership in several key battles. On August 16, he assisted General John Stark in driving the British off at the Battle of Bennington, a feat which earned him a statue at the battle site. Warner was present at the eventual surrender of Burgoyne.

In March, 1778, Warner was made a Brigadier General of the Vermont militia. He was quite ill, however, by this time, possibly from arthritis or tuberculosis, and did not spend much time with his troops anymore. As the war shifted to the south, Warner’s Regiment was disbanded in 1781 and Warner returned to Roxbury permanently.

Warner was in a tough financial position by this time as his finances had largely been neglected during the war. He passed away at the young age of 41 in 1784, leaving his wife and three children, ages 16, 10 and 7. His wife, Esther, petitioned both the federal government and the Vermont government for financial assistance due to her husband’s war service. Eventually the Vermont government awarded her 2,000 acres, but the land was rocky and worthless. Warner is buried in Roxbury’s Center Green.

Note: Seth Warner’s birthdate is sometimes listed as May 17, 1743. It is May 6 by the Old Style Julian calendar. May 17 by the New Style Gregorian calendar. The British Empire switched to the New Style in 1752.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com  

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“The question is, not what rights naturally belong to man, but how they may be most equally and effectually guarded in society.”
Roger Sherman

Ben Franklin returns from Great Britain

On this day in history, May 5, 1775, Ben Franklin returns from Great Britain after having spent much of the previous two decades as a colonial agent in London. Franklin had become independently wealthy by his early 40s due to the success of his publishing business. After he retired, he devoted much of his time to scientific pursuits and to politics.

Franklin first became involved in politics in 1736 when he became the clerk for Pennsylvania’s colonial assembly. He served in this position for 15 years. He served as a deputy postmaster of North America for roughly the same period. He also served on Philadelphia’s City Council and as a Justice of the Peace. In 1751, Franklin was elected as a representative to the Colonial Assembly for the first time, a position he would hold for six years. He would later become the  Crown’s Postmaster for all of North America.

In 1757, Ben Franklin became Pennsylvania’s representative to the Crown in London. This began a long career of service to the colonies in England. He would spend 18 of the next 20 years in London as an agent for Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey and Massachusetts. For a short stint in the early 1760s, he would return to the colonies and serve in the Pennsylvania Assembly again and would be elected the Speaker of the House in 1764.

Franklin returned to London in late 1764 and resumed his career as agent for the colonies. Franklin disagreed with many British policies, but for the most part thought the colonists would have to submit to London’s plans. As time progressed, however, his mind slowly changed and he began to realize that Parliament had no intention of being reasonable in its treatment of the colonists.

In late 1772, Franklin obtained several private letters from Thomas Hutchinson and Andrew Oliver, the governor and lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts, from several years earlier. In the letters, the officials recommended abridging civil liberties in Massachusetts in response to the colonists’ rebellion and in order to enforce Parliament’s will. Franklin privately sent the letters back to officials in Massachusetts who published them in public newspapers. Colonists were outraged and Parliament was shamed.

For his role in the affair, Ben Franklin was brought before the King’s Privy Council in January, 1774. He was humiliated and removed from his position as Postmaster General. Later in the year, Parliament passed the Coercive Acts in response to the Boston Tea Party. The Coercive Acts shut down Boston Harbor and the Massachusetts Assembly until the tea was paid for. Franklin realized through all this that reconciliation with England was impossible. He left England permanently and arrived back in Philadelphia on May 5, 1775. The following day, he was informed he had been chosen to attend the Second Continental Congress as a delegate from Pennsylvania.

In Congress, Franklin would help write the Declaration of Independence and serve as America’s Ambassador to France, helping secure vital aid and cooperation from the French for the war. He would later be a governor of Pennsylvania and also sign the United States Constitution.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com  

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“No power was given to Congress to infringe on any one of the natural rights of the people.”
Theophilus Parsons,
Massachusetts Convention on the ratification of the Constitution, January 23, 1788

Rhode Island is the first state to declare independence

On this day in history, May 4, 1776, Rhode Island is the first state to declare independence from Great Britain. Rhode Island had an independent streak from its very beginnings. The colony was founded by Roger Williams, a Baptist minister who was kicked out of Massachusetts for his different religious views from the majority.

Williams founded Providence Plantations in 1636 at the northern tip of Narragansett Bay on land given to him by the Narragansett tribe. In 1637, more Baptist refugees from Massachusetts, including Anne Hutchinson, founded another colony on Rhode Island at the southern tip of the bay. Today the island is called Aquidneck Island and has the cities of Newport, Middleton and Portsmouth on it.

The two colonies joined together for common defense and common interests and were granted a Royal Charter in 1663 by Charles II, officially recognizing the "Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." The colony was known for religious toleration and became an early home for Baptists, Jews, Quakers and others. Because of its proximity to the ocean, Rhode Island became a major shipping and mercantile center and a center of great wealth. Much of the colonial slave trade was handled by Rhode Island merchants.

As the American Revolution approached, Rhode Island was particularly affected by British shipping regulations and taxes, which fomented anger and rebellion in the colony. In 1769, citizens of Newport burned the HMS Liberty for enforcing anti-smuggling regulations. The Liberty had formerly been owned by John Hancock and seized by the British for alleged smuggling. In 1772, the citizens of Providence burned the British customs schooner HMS Gaspee for the same reason.

On May 4, 1776, the Rhode Island General Assembly declared its independence from Great Britain, the first of the original 13 colonies to do so, two months before the rest declared independence on July 2. Ironically, Rhode Island would be the last of the colonies to ratify the US Constitution. Rhode Islanders were reluctant to cede sovereignty to the United States government, keeping in line with their independent streak.

Rhode Island was wealthy enough that it could possibly have survived as an independent state. The primary way for the federal government to raise funds in that time was through taxes on trade. Rhode Island’s heavy dependence on shipping meant it would have paid a heavy share of these taxes. Eventually, however, Rhode Islanders realized they would pay even heavier taxes to trade with the United States as a foreign country than as a member state and she became the last of the original thirteen colonies to ratify the Constitution on May 29, 1790.

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com  

Jack Manning

Secretary General

National Society Sons of the American Revolution

www.sar.org

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”

James Madison (1788)